Piece of You
by Rabid Chimera
Summary: Nero struggles with a life-changing decision, afraid to fill Credo's shoes. It is only when he remembers the words Credo said to him before his death that Nero is determined to be the man Credo wanted him to be.


**Warnings:** Nothing?

**To be updated?:** Possibly, in the future. For now, no.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own DMC, and I make no money from writing this story.

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"I can't believe this!"

Kyrie sat on the small sofa beneath the window, twiddling her thumbs nervously. Her chocolate eyes shifted from the television playing reruns of some random sitcom that no one ever watched to Nero pacing hastily around the apartment. He would stomp into the kitchen, fiddle with the boxes in the snack cabinet or open the fridge before slamming the door and stomping back to the den. All the while, he mumbled curses beneath his breath for the men that had promoted him to the position of captain. Kyrie was happy for him, but Nero quickly made it clear that his promotion was nothing to be happy about.

"I don't understand," said the songstress. "Is this not a good thing?"

Nero didn't respond but continued to pace around the den, spotting up the carpet with his dirty boots that Kyrie was afraid to tell him to remove. Nero would never hurt her, but when he was in a bad mood, anything could turn into a fight. She was never in the mood to argue with him.

"You'll make a lot more if you take the job," she offered. "And it would be a good way to prove—"

"Prove _what_?" Nero demanded lowly, his eyes void of all expression but a silent warning to be careful what sensitive issues she brought up.

"Prove that you're not a threat," she replied with a small and fleeting smile.

Nero stared at her as a way of saying, "I'm listening."

"You know that some people don't trust you because of... your arm," she said gently, gesturing to his Devil Bringer dangling at his side and glowing brightly in response to his irritation. "Taking this job would show them that you _are_ a good man... not a _monster_."

At first, Nero cringed at her implication that people thought him a monster. The maiden apologized with her eyes, and Nero stared at her for a long moment before a sigh left his lips. He turned to walk calmly to the leather armchair in the corner, plopping onto the squeaky cushion. He watched the characters bicker on the TV to the laughter of an amused audience, but it did nothing to cheer him up. Dropping his head into his hands as he leaned forward, Nero sighed exhaustedly and shook his head.

"You know I can't do it," he said dejectedly, rubbing his creased forehead to quell an oncoming headache. Brows high and eyes staring off blankly, he continued to shake his head slowly before Kyrie replied.

"No, I _don't_," Kyrie said with a rare hint of anger in her voice. "I believe in you, Nero. I _know_ you can do it. H-he would have wan—where are you going?"

"To bed," growled Nero before he disappeared up the stairs. The hunter stomped to their shared bedroom, slamming the door and turning the lock. He needed to be _alone_. This whole "future captain" situation had him feeling hopelessly confused. He knew Kyrie was just trying to help, but she was only making him feel worse. He left before she could say anything that would really set him off, and truly, she almost did.

Sitting on his bed, Nero clutched his head in his hands. _"Captain Nero,"_ he thought with a bitter snort, _of The Order of the Sword. _Images of himself in the captain's uniform flickered through Nero's mind, and he couldn't help but laugh, though he wasn't sure why. He didn't feel at all like laughing. He had far too much to think about.

_You couldn't do the job._ Nero knew he wasn't qualified for the job. He had never pushed paper or planned nightly patrols. The other knights didn't want him to be their boss anyway. They always gave him disgusted looks and arrogant sneers. He wanted to punch them all in their stupid faces, but Nero knew better. That wouldn't help his cause. Being captain of The Order might very well be a way to show them all that he was equal, that he wasn't a monster, but Nero cared more about performing his job properly than impressing a bunch of stuck-up pricks. Besides, he knew the only reason he was being promoted was because Credo had demanded it in his will.

"Credo," mouthed Nero, clenching his fist tightly. It had been nearly a month since Credo was killed on that fateful day. Nero damned Sanctus to the deepest pit of Hell with every breath he could muster. When he had crushed the false Savior's face, he hadn't done it for Fortuna but Credo. When Nero did anything at all, he always asked himself if Credo would be proud of him. That man was his brother, his father, and his best friend. He taught him everything he knew, from how to properly and beautifully wield a sword to how to be a gentleman when speaking to ladies.

_"Nero,"_ he had said one evening after they had finished a spar. Nero approached Credo, his silhouette black against the painted sunset.

_"Credo?"_ he had responded, when the man took awhile to respond.

Credo finally turned to him, a stern look on his face. Credo being stern wasn't unfamiliar, but there was something far deeper to the expression. It was an expression Nero had never seen before. He tried to pick all of the emotions out of it—determination, hope but, above all, affection. It caught Nero off-guard, and he found himself at a loss for words. The man had stepped forward and placed a firm, black-gloved hand on the young part-devil's shoulder.

_"You may be different from the other knights, but you are ten times the man they will ever be... Don't ever forget that."_

Nero mouthed the words as they replayed in his head, salty tears slipping into his mouth. Credo had said that to him three weeks before he died. Nero could seldom remember those heartfelt words without choking up.

Flipping over the palm of his hand, Nero opened his fingers to reveal the item he had grabbed off the nightstand when he entered the room. It was an authentic gold watch Credo received as a gift from The Order on the twelfth anniversary of his appointment as captain. One day, when Credo was doing paperwork and Nero refused to leave his office, the man had asked the then thirteen-year-old boy what he thought of his new uniform. Nero had said that his uniform was boring and "lame" but that he liked Credo's watch. Nero was such a brat back then, but Credo had just laughed heartily, smiling from ear to ear—something he rarely did while at work.

_"Maybe you will have a watch of your own someday,"_ Credo had said.

_He remembered,_ thought Nero before he was burying his face into his pillow, staining it with his tears. He sobbed into the pillow, hoping Kyrie wouldn't hear. Nero wished he could remember Credo with happiness in his heart, but all the memories he had of the man only came with pain. He missed Credo to the point of making himself sick. If he was being honest with himself, he would admit that Credo was more important than even Kyrie had ever been. Credo had taught him so many things—so many pieces of vital wisdom that he was only starting to understand in his adult years.

Credo had mentioned Nero being captain one day in the past. Nero always scoffed at the idea. It didn't matter how old he was; the thought of being captain had always been whimsical to him. He had never imagined he would be in that position someday, and yet, here he was struggling with the decision of whether to assume his inherited position as Captain of The Order or go back to fading into the background.

He finished Kyrie's words in his head: _He would have wanted you to._

Nero finally raised himself from the pillow, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He took a deep breath, clutched the watch tightly in his hand and said, "I'll do it... for you."

_I'll be every bit of the man you thought I was._

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**A/N:** Well, here's my first update in awhile. I've wanted to write a one-shot like this for a long time but didn't get around to it until now. I really love Nero and Credo's relationship. Since I never really had a father and my brother was always distant, their relationship is beautiful to me. It's something I wish I could have for myself. And I actually enjoyed writing Kyrie, possibly because I gave her a bit of a personality. She's really not that bad in a good author's hands, but the game just made her seem so flat. Anyway, if you enjoyed this, please review. I am considering making this into a serial story, but for now, it is a one-shot.

Also, to those of you who haven't seen my recent notes or have no idea what I'm talking about, here is a brief rundown of what's going on. You may have heard about the reinforcement of FFN's MA content policy. Like many other authors, I am moving most of my stories to other sites. You can now find me at DA(Deviant Art) and AFF(Adult Fanfiction, also a "dot net" site). My DA account name is Blood-of-Dusk, and my AFF account name is Blood_of_Dusk—note the hyphens and underscores. I recommend going to my DA account as it is much easier to update, and I will update it a lot more often than AFF. You can find many of my popular lemons and serial stories there, such as _The Cry of Souls_ and _Nightmares On Slum Street_. If you are a first-time reader, you can find DanteXNero and a Dante/Lady story there. I will be adding more stories with Credo and possibly Kyrie on there in the future. There is also a possibility of non-DMC pairings, such as ThorXSteve R., showing up there, as well. So if you liked this one-shot, you may find more enjoyable pieces on my DA. If you do check out my DA and decide to stick around, please leave me a "hello". I love hearing from all of my fans.

While I will still update on FFN, it will most likely be rare. I will only update stories here that don't violate the MA content policy. With me, that means very few. Whether you are a veteran or new reader, I fully recommend you abandon this account and follow me to a different site as all of my old stories and many new ones will appear on those sites while this one will mostly just collect dust from now on. Also, if updating this account becomes too much of an unnecessary hassle, I will take all my stories down and delete this account. So honestly, I don't know how much longer this account will be around.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. If you have any questions about the story or my move, don't hesitate to ask. I will assist you in finding me, if you need assistance. Also, please review telling me what you did/didn't like. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Take care,

Blood


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